Ottawa police recently engaged in a widespread string of thefts of privately purchased gasoline and propane throughout the city in an attempt to drive the Freedom Convoy out of the city.
Recent state of emergency declared
This came about shortly after the Ottawa mayor, Jim Watson, declared a state of emergency on February 6. It was then that Watson said, “The situation at this point is completely out of control, because the individuals with the protest are calling the shots. They have far more people than we have police officers, and I’ve indicated to the chief that we have to be much more nimble and proactive when it comes to these activities.”
Watson would go on to say, “we are outnumbered and we are losing this battle right now,” as he went on to add, “We’re in the midst of a serious emergency, the most serious emergency our city has ever faced, and we need to cut the red tape to get these supplies available to our police officers and to our public works staff.”
“Declaring a state of emergency reflects the serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents posed by the ongoing demonstrations and highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government,” said a statement from the city.
It appears that Ottawa is potentially calling for federal troops to enter the scene. Other sources seem to confirm this notion.
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Shortly after the state of emergency was declared by the Ottawa mayor, the Ottawa Police Department sent out this tweet:
And then the arrests began.
Around 9PM that night, the Ottawa Police Department reported that they’d made multiple arrests, having seized multiple vehicles as well as fuel. Members of the Freedom Convoy were frequently charged with “mischief” or “hate crimes.”
Transporting fuel into the Freedom Convoy was enough of a penalty to be slapped with a mischief charge. Other infractions members of the Convoy were charged with include not wearing a seat belt, having a defective muffler, and excessive honking.
At approximately, 7PM, the OPD had stolen 3200 L of fuel from the Freedom Convoy out of a parking lot. The OPD began the dismantling of the Freedom Convoy’s logistics camp as well: